Okay, yes, it is a little silly to dress your pet up in ONE gear. But this action is about branding, and putting a T-shirt on a dog or a ONE band around a snake — or, as in this picture from Raquel at the University of Texas in Austin, putting a ONE logo near your guinea pig — gets attention. Even if it does seem a little silly.
Eventually, we’re going to have a page on the OCC site where we feature all the ONE’d pets we’ve collected over the years. In the meantime, you can make your “ONE Your Pet” action more impactful by also sharing your photo on Facebook or Twitter.
I learned that in 1998 treatment was $12,000/person/year, but throughout the years it decreased to $7,000 then $2,000 on to $140. Now it costs <$90/person/year. That's roughly 133x MORE that we can help people as opposed to the original costs! Talk about moving forward and progressing in treatments!
- Drea Rewal, College of the Canyons
First of all, the overwhelming numbers of people that are affected by diseases that I am vaccinated for are amazing. Once again, I am overwhelmingly greatful that I have certain privileges that I honestly take for granted. Secondly, I was astonished of how far we have come regarding the prices for AIDS treatment. $12,000 to $98 a year per person is a beautiful accomplishment. There definitely is hope for all who suffer from this chronic virus, and the United States needs to continue to support the African communities that are distraught with AIDS and HIV deaths.
- Justin Stewart, Hillsborough Community College
I learned just how important vaccines are and how U.S. spending, research, and innovation is making a difference in the lives of real people around the world. I couldn’t help but cry tears of joy from seeing Avelile as a healthy young girl after seeing what AIDS had done to her. It was beautiful.
- Matt Sheffield, Indiana University Southeast
The private sector of development aid is booming like never seen before. This is illustrated by RED Campaign but especially with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This video gave me hope that Bill and Melinda are actually taking the time to oversee their foundation: that their money isn’t leading the way and that their optimism isn’t blinding them. While Africa is very much in need of public health changes, it is wrong and too optimistic to believe that all investments will and can help in the short and long run. However, in this video I saw how Bill and Melinda are watching their investments to ensure that there is its benefit is maximized. This not “phantom” aid. Obviously, Bill and Melinda are not giving this speech to ask for more money but asking for impatient fervor that will being about actions to improve the health in Africa. The videos of the individuals and families, especially the one about maternal health and poor conditions of child birth in Ethiopia, was a way to see the problems and solutions. Although I am very critical of discourse on this subject, I still believe it is incredibly important to connect any audience with a subject, as was the effort here. In summary, I learned many things from this video, made me think of somethings in a different way, but ignited a glimmer of hope in the collective actions of impatient optimists that can count me in.
- Sarah Adelman, University of California-Berkeley
Outreaching to high schools sound like a tough task that many of us do not want to to do because we have been there done that. And sometimes swore we would never go back. But the only way for us to continue OCC and to have more active campuses we must first make sure that every entering freshman in college is looking for a OCC chapter or maybe inspired enough to start one themselves.
The easiest way to go about doing this is during your breaks from school. Find a teacher that you had in high school and ask to come speak to they’re class about extreme poverty and preventable disease. Along with the importance of receiving a college education and why you choose your school as well.
That is exactly what I did on October 20, 2009. I spoke to a Advance Placement U.S. Government and Politics course (mostly seniors) for two 85 minute class periods at Blaine Senior High School, where I graduated from. It was a great experience for me to be able to reach out to students from home who really have not had much exposure to international politics. Many of these students were inspired by experiences that I have had by working with ONE, such as my attendance at the Power 100 Summit two years in a row. And most of all, by my once in a lifetime trip to Kenya.
By reaching out to these students we are able to help guide them to make consciences decisions about college. And to be as involved as much as possible and if they are interested in ending poverty look for ONE on there campus next fall!
-Steven Thai, Campus Outreach Ambassador for Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota
Thank you for joining the Liberian Books Project Challenge which presents an excellent tool for sustainably alleviating poverty by providing the basic literacy skills now desperately needed by more than 1.8 million people.
In 2008, through the direct action of members of ONE and its partners, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) acknowledged receiving more than 48,000 emails in support of debt relief in Liberia; and the significant role this email campaign played in securing pledges of support for Liberia from its member states. This action put Liberia on the long hard road to investing in its people through projects and programs to alleviate poverty.
It therefore comes as a natural next step for the Liberian Literacy Foundation to be partnering with the members of ONE to carryout just such a sustainable education project through the Liberian Books Project Challenge.
Under the project, the programs of recycling books, building libraries, providing educational resources, and delivering renewable energy to Liberia are synchronized into one cohesive effort of sustainable support for Liberian literacy centers. The project’s goals are achieved by partnering with community organizations, colleges and universities to collect used books, which are sold to build 1,200 literacy centers in Liberia and educate 1.8 million people.
While it’s good to be the biggest bear in the woods, we at Missouri State ONE believe it’s even better to combat poverty. So, here are some tips Campus Leader Ann Maryniak and I put together to help you survive a bear attack and, if you’re lucky, perhaps even beat the bear:
No idea is too far-fetched.
Don’t count any idea out because it’s too radical, too out there, too whatever. As I’ve been repeatedly mocked for saying, “no too is too ‘too’ for ONE.” Obviously, if it proves itself unattainable or otherwise counterproductive, cut your losses and move on. But don’t give up on any idea because it sounds crazy. Those are often the good ones. Example:
“What if we…”
“Nah, that’s stupid. Nobody is gonna care about AIDS because of power rangers…”
“Wait… that’s just crazy enough to work…”
Find the relevant people.
There are people on-campus who can help you make your ONE chapter bigger and better. For petitions, start with your Greek row if you like. Just email their presidents, let them know who you are and what you want to talk about. Bring the paper petitions with you. Watch as petitions come flowing in AND students get excited about what you’re doing.
Be visible.
MoState ONE did ten tables from August 23rd until October 16th. Not counting participation in the U2-related events and the speaking events and the Stand Up events and everything else. Just info tables… ten of them. Each table lasted around four hours, and we got around 75 signup every time. Very few people just signed one petition, so that meant anywhere from 100 to 225 petition signatures per table. That’s 5,000 points. BIIIIG payoff. Keep t-shirts, hats, bands, banners, flyers, and anything else you can visible. Eventually, even the people who didn’t start off interested will get curious. From there, it’s only a matter of whether or not they’re pro-HIV/AIDS.
Bring in Backup.
You are not the only group of students with a good cause. Bring in STAND, bring in United Students for Fair Trade, bring in Habitat for Humanity or Amnesty International. We might be ONE, but we don’t act alone. Get out there and work with other organizations. Get creative. It keeps people guessing, which keeps them interested.
Utilize your Weapons.
Possibly the best advice on this list for beating actual bears, this is the single most effective thing MSU ONE Bears have done this year. People, especially college students, are often very excited to put their voices to use, and nothing hurts your organization more than having twenty people hanging around feeling unused. The philanthropy organizations will love you for recruiting all their new people for them, but the Campus Challenge will not reward you.
This month’s challenge is unlike anything we’ve ever done before. Now through November 20, we need you to collect used books — a few of your own laying around the house, or run a campus-wide book drive — for the Liberian Literacy Foundation.
Maisie, Emily, ONE member Tiffany and our friend Victor Helb from the Liberian Literacy Foundation explain the challenge in this short-but-sweet video:
The Liberian Literacy Foundation collects books to either use as learning materials or sell to raise money for building environmentally-responsible literacy institutions. Literacy is a key tool in the fight against global poverty and disease — it can help promote better health, spur economic growth and empower citizens to hold their governments accountable. Every single book you donate will help families and communities in Liberia to take one more step in escaping the cycle of extreme poverty.
Learn more about the November challenge, including the points and prizes, here.
Anyone who’s been keeping an eye on the OCC standing over the past few weeks is probably not too shocked to see that the Missouri State Bears are walking away victorious from OCC’s October Recruitment Challenge. ONE at MSU recruited an amazing 780 new members in the month of October alone, and for all their hard work, ONE is awarding them with 20,000 points, a prize pack of FEED bags and ONE gear, and a conference call with the FEED Foundation’s co-founders, Lauren Bush and Ellen Gustafson and their members.
Also, a huge congrats goes out to the University of Central Florida with 566 new recruits and OCC first-timers Philander-Smith College with 466 new members, who will receive 10,000 and 5,000 points, respectively for their 2nd and 3rd place finishes in October.
ONE’s Next Top T-shirt contest is going strong and we’ve already received more than 400 T-shirt designs – and quite a few of them are from Campus Challenge students.
But we need lots more, so we’ve decided to keep the creativity going and are extending the deadline for T-shirt design submissions until noon on Friday, November 6.
Learn more about how you can earn points for your T-shirt design and for just promoting the contest on your campus.
Check out other ONE members’ T-shirt ideas and submit your design here.
If you want the full 2,500 points for the Email Your Campus action, it’s not enough to just post something on your school’s activities board or email a particular club. We’ll give you partial credit for those kinds of things, but we’re looking for a mass email to everyone with a .edu email address at your school.
To send that kind of email, you’re probably going to have to get permission from school administrators and go through official channels. You can start by checking a campus-wide email you received about something else, and see if there’s a contact link where you can send an inquiry. You can also ask your student government or a faculty member, although they might not have all the answers.
Hey, if it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth 2,500 points. But a lot of schools have figured it out and gotten some amazing recruitment results, which of course means 100 points per sign up. So this is definitely an action you’re going to want to pursue as you build and strengthen your team throughout the season.
Have a question about an action or anything else? Leave us a comment!
On October 11, the Luther College ONE Chapter teamed with official ONE Campaign partner Bead for Life and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) for the Jesus Justice Jazz Tour concert held at Luther.
At the events, the bands spoke to high school and college students about extreme poverty and preventable disease. Students that attended were able to raise money for the ELCA World Hunger Appeal to help meet the Change the World: 2009 Lutheran Youth Challenge of raising $1 million.
We were able to raise over $500 for Bead for Life. We did this by tabling at the Jesus Justice Jazz Concert and October 12-14 outside of the cafeteria during dinner. Students were amazed with the craftsmanship of the jewelry that women make by hand in Uganda.
Partnering with Bead for Life is a great opportunity for chapters to collaborate with an official ONE partner and help support the work they are doing!
-Steven Thai, Campus Outreach Ambassador for Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota
The OCC Blog is a daily log of the ONE Campus Challenge, a friendly competition to determine which university's student body has the most effective global poverty-fighting campaign. The site is operated by ONE staff, Campus Outreach Ambassadors (COAs), and Campus Leaders.
The content of each post represents the views of that post's author and does not necessarily reflect the views of ONE. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any post expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
Outreaching to high schools sound like a tough task that many of us do not want to to do because we have been there done that. And sometimes swore we would never go back. But the only way for us to continue OCC and to have more active campuses we must first make sure that every entering freshman in college is looking for a OCC chapter or maybe inspired enough to start one themselves.
While it’s good to be the biggest bear in the woods, we at Missouri State ONE believe it’s even better to combat poverty. So, here are some tips Campus Leader Ann Maryniak and I put together to help you survive a bear attack and, if you’re lucky, perhaps even beat the bear:
